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Although I loved the build-up leading to the final scene, I felt that the Kirby Plaza showdown was a bit of a let down. I can't shake the feeling the the series's writers can't handle a decent fight scene. For example, Jessica vs. Parkman didn't make sense as she manages to pull a straight lie to the face of the mind-reading cop. The Peter vs. Sylar fight in Surresh's apartment also felt like a cop-out, as Peter had enough power at his disposal to at least try to defend against the very predictable glass-shard attack.
However, I don't feel like bitching, and I thought it would be nicer to provide something a little meaty instead. By no way do I claim to be a writer of professional calibre, but I felt I could write something that gave the final showdown in Heroes a bit more flair that what was seen on TV. I incorporated most elements of the original script, but I did my best to flesh them out into something that I feel represents a decent final showdown.
Also, I started out writing the piece as a rather straightforward account of events, and then I became a bit more "literary". I think it's flawed in many ways, so please abstain from commenting on the writing. I'm willing the discuss the actual events of the narrative, though.
I hope you enjoy.
***EDIT: I've reworked the writing of the Kirby Plaza showdown and I've added a three-part epilogue to tie a loose end I hated.***
* * *
THE KIRBY PLAZA SHOWDOWN
Sylar hurls Bennet against the concrete wall. Bones crack; Noah Bennet is crippled and drops his gun. Sylar turns to Peter and examines the hero's face.
"Peter Petrelli. Haven't I killed you before?"
"Guess it didn't stick."
As a sudden reply, using telekinesis, Sylar grabs Peter, lifts him up and starts strangling him while standing at a distance. Peter attempts to knock Sylar back using his own telekinesis powers, but the murderer counters the attempt with a shock wave of his own that sends convulsions through Peter.
"Not this time, Petrelli. Not with my own favourite trick."
Micah and Molly Walker rush out of the Kirby Plaza tower, followed closely by Nicky and Surresh. They are helping D.L. move about; he's bleeding to death from a gunshot. Molly sees Sylar, who is holding a disabled Peter, and she yells in terror.
"It's him! It's the bogeyman!"
Sylar glances at the child and grins with sadistic glee. He turns back to Peter, raises a finger next to his victim's forehead and starts cutting open his skull; Peter screams. However, at this instant, Matt Parkman reaches Kirby Plaza, gun in hand.
"Sylar!"
Aiming straight for the killer's heart, Parkman fires five rounds. Yet, Sylar is fast enough to stop the bullets in mid-air. He pauses a moment and then hurls the projectiles back at the police officer. With a dull, muffled noise, the bullets hit Parkman straight in the chest, and he collapses, mortally wounded. Molly runs to him.
"Officer Parkman!"
But when Sylar turns back to Peter, he's gone and out of sight. Sylar mutters under his breath. "Invisible, again..."
A tall sculpture stands at the centre of Kirby Plaza. Sylar presses his open hand against it; it instantly liquefies, but before it falls formlessly, Sylar shapes spears out of the liquid material; he freezes them solid and holds them in mid-air using telekinesis. Sylar closes his eyes and listens for the sound of Peter's heartbeat. Then he hurls all the spears in the same direction.
Yet, unlike the face-off in Surresh's apartment, Peter reacts fast enough. Time stops around him and Peter scurries away from the spears. However, his mastery over Hiro's power is flawed, and time resumes it's race once too soon: one of the spears shoots through Peter's right shoulder. He holds back a shriek of pain, and he falls to the ground.
Sylar motions towards a parking meter that snaps from its base and flies into his hands. But as he is about to finish Peter off, Nicky hustles stealthily towards the heroes's adversary. However, Sylar swings around, and, with a metallic thud, he bats Nicky to the ground - he heard her.
"You were very quiet. But sadly, to find Petrelli I had to magnify my hearing a thousand time, and I forgot to shut it off."
Micah yells, "Mom!" Sylar attempts to strike Nicky again with the parking meter, but in a split-second, she's back on her feet, catches the improvised maul and yanks it off Sylar's hands. He gawks in surprise for a quick instant, long enough for Nicky to hit him back and send him sprawling on the hard ground of Kirby Plaza.
"My strength's magnified only ten times, but that seems good enough."
Peter, who witnessed Sylar disintegrating the sculpture, liquefies the spear that juts from his shoulder, but his wound has yet to heal. However, Sylar recovers almost immediately from what had appeared to be a felling blow. Without taking the time to scramble back to his feet, he uses telekinesis to send Nicky flying. She and the parking meter collapse next to Peter, but invisible force lifts the meter which hovers slowly towards Micah, D.L. and Surresh.
"That one hurt," growls Sylar, "He's your son, right?"
"Micah!!"
The parking meter flies straight towards Nicky's family and Surresh, but phases right through them; D.L. passes out from the strain, his hands still clutching hard Micah's and the geneticist's legs. Sylar turns to face Nicky and Peter, and pins both of them to the ground with telekinetic force.
"Mom!"
Micah closes his eyes and whispers, "Please, this has to work!" He utters a desperate plea to the electronic souls of the city, ignoring range, pushing his powers far beyond everything he's ever attempted. Every alarm in the vicinity goes off, every speaker that borders the Plaza screeches deafening feedback, every streetlight explodes in sparks of electric flame. Sylar's face distorts in pain, he covers his ears with both hands and staggers. Nicky and Peter stand back up.
"Go back to your family, they need you."
Nicky runs to Micah, they hug tightly, and they both look after D.L. in concern. Peter steadily walks to Sylar who attempts to weakly push Peter back with a telekinetic wave, but Peter deflects the attack and kicks Sylar in the face. Sylar falls. Peter punches him hard once, twice, but suddenly, the air flares up around Sylar and Peter backs up quickly, scalded by the blaze. Sylar stands back up, surrounded with atomic flames.
"No one can stop it, Petrelli! You can't stop it! The painter saw it and like a fool, he thought he could change the future - but I took his power too!"
Moreover, to Peter's horror, his own hands start to glow, crackling with orange energy. He backs up a step, staring at himself, as his terrifying nightmares of the future materialize.
"No, no, no... NO!!!"
Sylar lets out an exhilarated cackle.
"You can't control it! We're both villains! Even if you stop me, you explode!"
Sylar laughs hysterically. The heroes's trade glances, in panic. No one makes a move. They stare powerlessly at the two exploding men.
But as Isaac Mendez drew it, Hiro appears out of thin air behind Sylar. Hiro calls out a challenge.
"Sylar!"
The madman turns around in surprise.
"You!"
Although all the heroes that are still conscious are looking, none ever sees Hiro Nakamura close the distance that separates him from Sylar. None sees him plunge his blade through Sylar's heart. None hears him whisper, "Gomen nasai..." To their eyes, one moment, Hiro is standing, sword in hand, a dozen paces away from Sylar; the next moment, Hiro is right in front of their mortal enemy, both of his arms are already thrust forward, and his are hands tightly clasped around the handle of the sword on which Sylar is now impaled. The killing blow has been delivered from beyond time. The atomic energies no longer surround Sylar.
"Yatta!" says the youthful Japanese man under his breath, almost disbelieving his own success.
Hiro Nakamura pulls his sword from Gabriel Gray's body, and he sheathes the katana in the elegant motions of a batto-jutsu initiate as the slain villain slides to the ground. Hiro turns to Peter Petrelli, whose desperate attempt at keeping in check the nuclear powers he has inherited from Ted Sprague is quickly faltering.
"Hiro, take me somewhere safe, I can't stop this!"
"Hold on, Peter Petr...!"
Before Hiro even takes a step towards Peter, invisible force hurls him towards the tall wall of the Kirby Plaza tower. Hiro yells in distress, but vanishes just before hitting the mass of glass and concrete at full speed. Sylar smiles, bleeding to death, his open hand extended towards the spot where he had hoped to crush Nakamura. His face grows still, his eyes turn blank as Isaac's once did, and images of Sylar's life flicker within the misty orbs that once saw the future; the last image they hold is of Sylar's lifeless face as he grows cold on the ground of Kirby Plaza.
Radioactive energy spills from Peter, who is on the verge of panic. Hiro is nowhere to be seen.
However, suddenly emerging from the sky above, Nathan Petrelli and Claire land at the edge of Kirby Plaza, next to Bennet, who is barely conscious.
"Dad!"
"Oh God, Claire - teddy bear..."
Noah and Claire hug as Nathan looks on with an awkward expression on his face. Peter sees his brother; waves of nuclear force are now flooding Kirby Plaza.
"Nathan!"
"I was wrong, Peter! Linderman was wrong! Mom is wrong! This isn't inevitable! You were right all along, we can change the world, we can make it better!"
Nathan steps towards Peter and brings up his arms to shield his face from the scorching heat.
"I love you, Peter! I'll take you out of here, and you won't hurt anybody!"
"Nathan!"
But the nuclear energy flares up and Nathan reels back, struck by the blaze. He yells in pain, the sleeves of his suit are on fire. Claire rushes to him.
"D- Dad!"
She smothers the flames with her bare hands. Nathan seems shaken, but otherwise unhurt.
"I can't get close!"
Claire locks her eyes with Peter's, which are filled with despair. The powerful energies recede a bit, but will not abate.
"Claire, help me!"
Claire kneels and takes Noah's pistol. He hears Claire swallow back a sob. Noah reaches out and his hand brushes Claire's. Claire turns to her surrogate father, their eyes meet; tears stream down her round face.
«Teddy bear...»
«Dad...»
There is silent understanding.
Claire Bennet stands up and starts walking towards the epicentre of the blaze, but Nathan tries to stop her.
"Claire, you don't have-"
"You know I do," she replies in a shaky voice.
"Nathan, listen to me!" Peter cries out, "Claire can survive this, and maybe I can too - remember when you thought Sylar had killed me! But even if I die, this is the only way! Please, don't let me kill all those people!"
"He's right... Dad."
Nathan lets go of Claire, and she starts walking towards Peter, gun in hand. The heat is staggering, but she barely feels any pain, although the inferno quickly sets her clothes ablaze and sears her face. She stands in front of Peter, who's clutching his shoulders, failing to contain the powers that Isaac foresaw would destroy New York. Peter looks at Nathan.
"I love you, Nathan!"
"Peter! There's something I have to tell you!"
Energy flares from Peter: Claire staggers, and Nathan is forced to step back.
"Hiro Nakamura said I become a villain in the future. I don't want this to happen!"
"I know, Nathan!"
Peter looks at Claire. Her face appears burnt beyond recognition.
"Please, do it, Claire."
Claire raises the gun and aims for Peter's head.
"Oh God, please survive this, Peter. I don't want to kill you."
She is shaking.
"You saved the cheerleader," says Claire with a strangled voice.
"Save the world, Claire."
Claire shuts her eyes tight, and she pulls the trigger.
* * *
SURRESH
"Seemingly random, fragile threads that come together and mingle to form one steady bond. Destinies intertwined for the greater good. Painful sacrifices by individuals committed to the well-being of their species."
Rotating red lights of ambulances and fire trucks bathe Kirby Plaza. A dark cloth is drawn across Peter Petrelli's pale face. Nathan and Claire stand close, clutching each other's hand. Despite the objections of well-meaning paramedics, Noah Bennet hobbles next to Claire. She looks at him with a sad smile, and she reaches for his hand. He squeezes hers tenderly.
Inside an ambulance, Nicky and Micah stand next to D.L. He's regained consciousness, but life seems about to leave him.
"Dad!"
"Don't die, sweetheart!"
"It's gonna be okay, baby... It's gonna be okay..."
Matt Parkman lies inanimate on a stretcher, IVs plugged to his arm. A man and a woman rush him towards the open back of an ambulance. Molly Walker hustles along with them.
"Don't die, officer Parkman! You're my hero, do you hear me? You're my hero!"
As Matt's stretcher slides within the vehicle, Mohinder Surresh puts his hand on Molly's shoulder. She snuggles against him and starts crying.
"They were all brought together to accomplish a formidable mission, to put an end to a fearsome threat. This is the struggle for life, for evolution - an evolution that may often take place through fear, mistrust and conflict, or an evolution that may also occur through cooperation, caring and love. Now, their mission is complete..."
However, there no longer is a corpse where Sylar lied. A sticky, viscous trail of blood slithers across a portion of Kirby Plaza. It leads to a manhole. The cover is stained with blood, and its opening rests ajar. Then, an unseen force nudges the cover back into place.
"...except for one final task."
* * *
Sylar drags himself in the dark tunnel. The stench of soiled water nauseates him. He stopped the bleeding and forced his body to pump pain-killing endorphins, but blood keeps rushing to his head and batters against his eardrums, forcing him to relinquish is heightened hearing.
Sylar lost track of time. Has it been hours since the Japanese stabbed him? Nakamura's power, he understands it now: the wondrous ability to bend space and time. He must rip it apart from him.
How could he lose? He is the most special of all. He will show the entire world. All these people gathered at the Plaza, so many of them had powers. He will find their hiding places, he will hound them down, and he will acquire for himself these amazing gift these people don't deserve.
His foot trips against an irregularity in the ground, and Sylar falls. The rough concrete tears his hands. Sylar lets out a sigh; he can rest, just for a moment. He thinks of his mother.
"Dear Mother, I'm so sorry..."
But at this moment, Sylar hears a soft rake behind him. He attempts to rise and turn around, but pain tears through his chest as gunshots resound. However, he stops the last bullet in mid-air. Amidst the darkness, he now hears a heartbeat.
Surresh.
Sylar retaliates instantly, hurling the bullet straight for the good doctor's heart. However, instead of the wet sound of steel burying into soft flesh, Sylar hears the bullet ricochet on the concrete wall behind which Mohinder sought cover. Immediately, another deafening gunshot pierces the air and overloads Sylar's hearing; he screams in pain, his skull feels like it was torn open. Yet, the distorted sound of Mohinder's words makes it through to him.
"This is for all the families you destroyed."
Sylar dies instantly as a final projectile plunders his brain.
Surresh, clutching tightly his firearm, walks slowly towards Sylar. Through the green haze of the night-vision goggles Bennet provided him with, he sees Sylar's ruined head. Mohinder let's out a relieved sigh, and he pulls out a portable phone.
"It's over, Molly. I found the bogeyman. It's over. He won't hurt anyone else."
"I know, Doctor Surresh," Molly's reply is filled with interference from the poor underground reception, "I can't find him anymore. I can't find dead people."
It's over. His task is complete: his father and Molly's family have been avenged at last. Mohinder knows for sure that Sylar's biofeedback powers cannot restore a serious brain injury. It can staunch bleeding, push a body far beyond its normal limits, or slow a metabolism enough to feign death and deceive even a medical professional. Sylar murdered a young New Jersey woman for this amazing gift. It allowed him to fool adversaries, and to elude capture many times over. But Surresh knows from carefully studying Sylar's perverted DNA that he cannot regenerate a destroyed brain.
Only Claire Bennet and her uncle Peter Petrelli can accomplish that feat.
* * *
Almost everyone attends Peter's funeral.
Nathan stands with his wife and kids, and his mother. His wife stands on crutches, thanks to a "new experimental treatment" for spinal injuries. The Petrelli matriarch appears to be lost in thought.
Close to them are Claire and Noah Bennet. Bennet's arm is in a cast, and he bears a slight hunch. Their family is absent, but they managed to get a hold of them on the phone, and to be reassured that everybody is safe and sound. Claire also talked with Zack.
"Everyone misses you here. I miss you too."
Nicky and Micah stay close to D.L.'s wheelchair. It will be a while before he can walk again, but the doctors assured his family that he would recover within weeks.
Molly and Surresh are also present. Matt Parkman couldn't leave the hospital, but his condition his stable, and his pregnant wife takes good care of him. Molly visits him regularly. Surresh supervises Molly's treatment, and her disease is kept in check so far.
Nathan Petrelli graciously offered to cover the medical fees of anybody who had been injured in this "mad Kirby Plaza shooting spree" involving a "serial killer the FBI had been chasing for months".
Hiro Nakamura has not been seen since the night after the election. Ando hasn't heard from him either, and, despite his sadness, he resumed his duties for his employer. But every once in a while, he peers at the clock, hoping that its hands will falter for a moment. However, they march on, inexorable.
The coffin is lowered in the grave as prayers of comfort are recited. Nathan and Claire, in turns, deposit flowers on the closed lid. Earth is shovelled and soon covers the polished wood.
Eventually, everybody departs, with the exception of Nathan, his family and his mother. The Petrelli matriarch soon beckons everybody to leave Nathan alone with his brother.
"They need to say goodbye."
Nathan Petrelli stands silently in front of tombstone. It reads, "Peter Petrelli, the most caring of souls."
Next to his brother, invisible, Peter speaks softly.
"You were always good at faking sincerity."
Nathan grunts.
"And you were always good at not being where you're supposed to be." |
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